Department for Transport

Motor Vehicles

lord birt: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to ban the use of vehicles with petrol and diesel engines from 2050.

lord callanan: Our aim is for almost every car and van to be zero emission by 2050. We are investing £1billion on supporting ultra-low emission vehicles to mass market. This ambition is technology neutral but we expect it to be industry led with the car industry rising to meet changing consumer tastes.

Air Routes: EU Countries

lord campbell of pittenweem: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take to ensure continued access for airlines based in the UK to EU member states, once the UK has left the EU.

lord callanan: The Government is considering carefully all the potential implications arising from the UK’s exit from the EU, and plans to negotiate the best possible relationship between the UK and EU in the field of aviation with a smooth and orderly transition. Securing liberal market access to EU markets is a very high priority for the Department for Transport. The importance of air services to the health of the UK economy is recognised across Government. We will work closely with the international aviation community to ensure that this global industry continues to be a major success story for the UK economy.

South Western Railway: Compensation

baroness randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to offer additional compensation to South Western Railway season ticket holders who purchased their tickets before the announcement of disruption to services using Waterloo Station.

lord callanan: Network Rail and Stagecoach South West Trains began a comprehensive programme of communications surrounding the Waterloo Capacity Enhancement Works in September 2016, which gave affected passengers sufficient notice to be able to amend their travel plans. Throughout the works, passengers were entitled to compensation from the train operators through the arrangements set out in their Passenger’s Charter as applied at the time. This provided affected passengers who held monthly or longer season tickets with 10 void days. Based on the latest published figures for punctuality over the prior 12 months, these passengers are also entitled to a 5% discount upon renewal. The Government is not intending to offer any compensation over and above the current entitlement.

Home Office

Farms: Theft

lord kennedy of southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what actions they are planning to take to address the theft of equipment, vehicles and livestock from farms.

baroness williams of trafford: It is for Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners, as operational leaders and elected local representatives, to decide how best to deploy resources to manage and respond to crime and local priorities, in rural and urban areas alike.

Personation

lord ouseley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment have they made of the implications for crime and security in the UK ofreports that there are 500 occurrences of identity theft each day and what action, if any, they plan to take to reduce identity theft.

baroness williams of trafford: The Government is concerned about the harms caused by identity crime and the 2016 National Strategic Assessment of Serious and Organised Crime sets out our assessment of the threats associated with identity crime.Government are taking a number of steps to counter the increase in illegal activity around identity fraud including:Action Fraud was established in 2014 and is the UK’s national fraud and cyber-crime reporting centre. All frauds including identity thefts should be reported to them. The City of London Police is the national policing lead for fraud and works with Action Fraud using the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau to combat identity thefts.The Government is also concerned about the harms caused by identity crime and Action Fraud provides advice to individuals and businesses as well as support to victims.Gov.uk Verify is a simple and secure way of verifying identity when accessing some government services online, reducing the risk of fraud no matter which service is being accessed. HMG plans to extend the Verify platform so that people have one single, common and safe way of verifying themselves to all parts of government by 2020. Government also plans to make this platform more widely available, so that people can safely verify their identity to access non-government services such as banking.

Electronic Surveillance

lord paddick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the composition of the Technical Advisory Panel established under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016.

baroness williams of trafford: It is for the Investigatory Powers Commissioner, Lord Justice Fulford, to establish the Technology Advisory Panel (TAP), decide upon its composition, and appoint its members. Lord Justice Fulford took over responsibility for the oversight of investigatory powers by public authorities on 1st September 2017 and will appoint members of the TAP in due course.Lord Justice Fulford has said he would be happy to discuss the establishment of the TAP, the wider set-up of his office, and any other matters relating to his duties with interested Members of Parliament or Lords.

Refugees: Sri Lanka

lord patten: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of Sri Lanka's new Counter Terrorism Act, what assessment they have made of risks to Tamil returnees to Sri Lanka who have been refugees in the UK.

baroness williams of trafford: To clarify, the UK does not return refugees to a country where they have a well-founded fear of persecution.Given that Sri Lanka’s new Counter Terrorism proposals have yet to be passed into law, it is too early to evaluate how it will be used in practice or what, if anything, this means for Tamil returnees.However, counter-terrorism legislation is not new to Sri Lanka. The Home Office and the courts have both considered this issue previously and concluded that the existence and use of such legislation does not create a risk to Tamil returnees in and of itself.We continue to monitor the situation, and will consider how this law is used. Cases continue to be considered on their individual facts and merits. The Home Office’s guidance on this is available on the Gov.Uk website.

Immigration: Children

lord roberts of llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the comments by a Home Office spokesperson, reported in The Guardian on 4 August, that theyhave "provided refuge or other forms of leave to more than 8,000 children", how many of those children were granted (1) asylum, and (2) other forms of leave broken down by(a)the types of leave granted, and (b)the number ofchildren grantedeach form of leave.

baroness williams of trafford: In 2016 the UK granted asylum or another form of leave to over 8,000 children. This figure includes children granted asylum or another form of leave following an asylum claim, children resettled under our resettlement programmes and those children who were granted family reunion visas.The forms of leave granted to children who have made an asylum claim can include Refugee Leave, Humanitarian Protection, UASC Leave, Discretionary Leave, Grants of Family or Private Life Leave To Remain or Leave Outside The Rules. Children who are resettled to the UK under our resettlement programmes are granted Humanitarian Protection status or Indefinite Leave to Remain depending on the specific resettlement programme. Family reunion visas can be granted to family members of those granted Refugee Status or Humanitarian Protection in the UK, and are granted Leave in line with their relative.The Home Office publishes the number of Asylum applications from main applicants, by age in table as_03 of the Immigration Statistics release. The latest figures are available at the following link:www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/593028/asylum2-q4-2016-tables.ods  



Asylum 2 Q4 2016 tables 
(Excel SpreadSheet, 3.29 MB)

Offenders: Deportation

lord marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many individuals who have completed custodial sentences and have been recommended for deportation, are currently awaiting deportation.

baroness williams of trafford: The Home Office routinely publishes figures on the total number of foreign national offenders that are currently time served and are awaiting removal action. The figures can be found on the following link:



IE Transparency Data - Q1 2017
(Excel SpreadSheet, 86.6 KB)

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Hurricanes and Tornadoes: Caribbean

lord naseby: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether use was made of the UK's remote sensing and satellite technology to predict the impact of the storm system of Hurricane Irma; and if so, by whom.

lord prior of brampton: The Met Office is the UK National Met Service and monitors weather around the world, including hurricanes in the Caribbean such as Irma. For this purpose the Met Office uses a wide range of observations, including satellite and remote sensing technologies which form a crucial input to its weather modeling capability. Model predictions on the track of hurricanes together with information on their intensity and structure are used by the Met Office in its briefings to Her Majesty’s Government but also shared with the American National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Hurricane Centre.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Ascension Island: Aviation

lord jones of cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made in providing assistance to those working on Ascension Island, whose work hasbeen disrupted by the cessation of the use of Ascension as a refuelling stop for flights to and from the Falkland Islands.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The re-routing of the South Atlantic Airbridge away from Ascension has clearly impacted the lives of people on Ascension and the operations of the organisations based there.The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has been in close contact with the employers on the island to understand the effects of the loss of the Airbridge on their operations and their employees and families. I have spoken to Ascension Island councillors to hear their concerns.To maintain access in the short term, military flights have been supplementing visits by the Royal Mail Ship from St Helena. A monthly civilian flight between Ascension Island and St Helena will soon begin, providing access for returning Saint Helenians and contractors to travel to South Africa and onwards. We continue to examine longer term options for Ascension while the runway is rebuilt.

Department for Education

Higher Education: Standards

lord jopling: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Nash on 27 July (HL733) and 9 August (HL734), whether they will now answer the question and list those establishments which were eligible to apply to participate in the Teaching Excellence Framework, but which declined to join this voluntary process.

lord nash: As we have previously stated, the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) is a voluntary process and the Government, therefore, does not keep a record of providers who have chosen not to participate. The Higher Education Funding Council for England, who are responsible for delivering the TEF, have published a list of providers who received ratings on their website: http://www.hefce.ac.uk/tefoutcomes/.

Schools: Uniforms

baroness lister of burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they propose to put guidance on school uniform supply on a statutory basis as set out in the HM Treasury 2015 report A Better Deal.

lord nash: Decisions on school uniform, including how this is sourced, are made by the governing body (or academy trust) of the school, but our existing guidance is clear that, when setting their uniform policies, schools should keep costs to a minimum and ensure the uniform is affordable for everyone.The guidance also reminds schools of their obligation under Human Rights and Equalities legislation, as well as highlighting the legal requirement for schools to have a complaints process in place. Parents who have concerns about a school’s uniform policy can use this process to raise these with the school. If parents continue to have concerns, they can raise these with the Department.We intend to put this guidance on a statutory footing when a suitable legislative opportunity arises.

Ministry of Justice

Prisoners on Remand: Acquittals

lord beecham: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to change the policy of making no discharge grant or compensation to remand prisoners acquitted of the offences for which they were remanded.

lord keen of elie: The decision to remand a defendant in custody is taken by the court under the Bail Act 1976 and is a separate decision to a finding of guilt or innocence. Where the lawful decision to remand a defendant is made and a person subsequently acquitted there is no provision or reason to award compensation.Remand prisoners discharged at court or from prison after a period of custody on remand are not eligible for a Discharge Grant. Current policy is set out in Prison Service Instruction 72/2011. There are no immediate plans to review the arrangements for remand prisoners in respect of eligibility for payment of a Discharge Grant when acquitted of the offences for which they were remanded.

Prisons: Sanitation

lord beecham: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many prison places there are without in-cell sanitation or access to toilet facilities.

lord keen of elie: All prison accommodation has access to either in-cell sanitation (a toilet and wash basin installed in the cell) or toilet facilities accessed through the following means:• Open Access – some prisoners, including those housed in open conditions, are not locked in their cells and therefore are able to use central facilities at all times;• Electric Unlocking - cell doors are opened electronically to release prisoners one at a time. When out of their cell, prisoners have access to a restricted area that includes the toilet facility; or• Manual Unlocking – staff are deployed to unlock prisoners to use toilet facilities. This is only used as a contingency measure.

Legal Representation

lord marks of henley-on-thames: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of litigants in person on the court system.

lord marks of henley-on-thames: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the increasing numbers of litigants in person since the reforms contained in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 came into effect.

lord keen of elie: Information on numbers of litigants in person is not held centrally.Unrepresented parties have always been a feature of the civil and family justice system. Since 2015, the Government has invested £5 million of funding to support litigants in person through a range of measures designed to provide additional information, support and guidance.The Lord Chancellor is currently considering the planned post-implementation review of recent legal aid reforms. An announcement will be made in due course.

Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012

lord marks of henley-on-thames: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they plan to launch a post-implementation consultation on the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.

lord keen of elie: The Lord Chancellor is currently considering the planned post-implementation review of recent legal aid reforms. We will make an announcement in due course.

Prisoners

lord marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many prisoners there are; and what is the breakdown by nationality of those who are not UK citizens.

lord marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many non-UK citizens have been given custodial sentences in each of the last five years; and how many in each year have been recommended for deportation on release from prison.

lord keen of elie: As of 30 June 2017, there were 85,863 prisoners in Ministry of Justice run prisons and Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs) in England and Wales. 9,756 were foreign national prisoners, with 6,792 of these serving a custodial sentence. A breakdown of nationalities and sentenced foreign prisoners held as of 30 June, for the last five years can be found in the government published statistics which have been given in the attached annexes.All Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) sentenced to custody are referred to the Home Office at the earliest opportunity to be considered for deportation. This Government is absolutely committed to removing FNOs, and during the financial year 2016 / 2017, a record number of 6,343 FNOs were removed from prisons, IRCS and the community.



Prison Population 2017 by nationality
(Excel SpreadSheet, 47.03 KB)




Prison Population nationality by group custody
(Excel SpreadSheet, 31.22 KB)

Children: Custody

baroness gale: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made in ensuring that the judiciary are trained to adhere to Practice Direction 12J: Child Arrangements and Contact Order: Domestic Violence and Harm in all private law family proceedings where domestic abuse is alleged.

lord keen of elie: Under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, responsibility for the training of judges rests with the Lord Chief Justice. There is no ministerial oversight of such training.

Family Proceedings

baroness gale: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that finding of fact hearings are undertaken within family court proceedings where there are allegations of domestic abuse.

lord keen of elie: A revised Practice Direction 12J has been made by the President of the Family Division and approved by Ministers and is coming into force on 2nd October. This sets out the procedure governing finding of fact hearings in child arrangements cases where domestic abuse is alleged. Application of the practice direction is a matter for the senior judiciary.

Ministry of Defence

Burma: Military Aid

the lord bishop of coventry: To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to the suspension of military assistance, including training, for the Burmese army.

earl howe: In light of the ongoing violence in Burma's Rakhine State and the growing humanitarian crisis it has caused, the UK Ministry of Defence has decided to suspend all training and educational courses provided to the Burmese military with immediate effect.

Department for Work and Pensions

Social Security Benefits

baroness lister of burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of (1) the future annual cost of ending the freeze on working-age and children's benefits, and (2) what the additional annual cost of those benefits would now be had the freeze not been implemented.

baroness buscombe: These estimates can be derived using the published “Welfare Reform and Work Bill: Assessment of the Benefit Rate Freeze” attached. Using the figures published in the impact assessment for the benefit freeze, we can estimate the annual cost of ending the freeze on working-age and children’s benefits. Assuming the freeze was ended after 2017/18 (such that savings from 2017/18 onwards are constant at £0.9bn), the annual cost of ending the freeze would be £2.7bn by 2020/21. Assuming the freeze ends after 2017/18, the additional annual cost to working-age and children’s benefits had the freeze not been implemented is £0.9bn per annum.



Welfare Reform and Work Bill: Impact Assessment
(PDF Document, 263.21 KB)

Housing: Domestic Violence

baroness gale: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reduction in the benefit cap on housing availability for victims with children under two who have fled abusive partners and who are currently (1) residing in a refuge, and (2) residing in other forms of temporary accommodation.

baroness gale: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to assess the impact of the lower benefit cap on the length of a victim’s stay in a domestic abuse refuge, and the resulting cost to the taxpayer.

baroness buscombe: People who are subject to the benefit cap still receive benefits that are equivalent of gross family earnings of £25K, and £29K in London. If this is not enough money to secure a tenancy, the claimant can apply for Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) which can be given in advance to help secure a property. The DHP guidance explicitly states that funding should be aimed at individuals or families fleeing domestic violence.We have commissioned the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) to carry out some research into the new lower, tiered Benefit Cap and we are working with the Institute for Fiscal Studies to peer review in-house analysis on the impacts of the lower benefit cap on capped households. It is expected that a full evaluation report will be produced around the end of 2018.

Fit for Work Programme

lord luce: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect to reach conclusions following their review of the Fit for Work Scheme.

baroness buscombe: The Green Paper consultation set out our ambition to transform employment prospects for disabled people and people with long-term health conditions, and sought views on a range of issues including how to improve occupational health provision, drawing lessons from the Fit for Work service. We have been carefully considering the responses we received, to inform our approach to better supporting individuals to stay in and return to work. We will set out our plans for taking forward our ambitions in the Autumn. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Lord Luce and the Chronic Pain Policy Coalition for their response to the Green Paper consultation which has given us valuable insight.

*No heading*

baroness eaton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they hold data on the family circumstances of babies born to low income families in the UK; if so, which department holds those data; and how many babies were born to low income families that had (1) parents in a couple relationship, and (2) a single parent, in the last five years for which figures are available.

baroness buscombe: Information on the number of children born into families in low income is not available for any period. This is because the main sources of income data only capture a household's situation once a year. Therefore we do not record the income of the family on the day the child is born. The sample size for households with very young children will be small and it may also be the case that the response rate from families with very young children will be lower than usual and therefore may not be representative.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Farms: Tenants

baroness mcintosh of pickering: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they last met with the Tenant Farmers Association to discuss their proposals for the reform of the taxation framework within which agricultural tenancies operate in order to foster longer-term farm business tenancies.

lord gardiner of kimble: George Eustice, Minister of State for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food met with members of the Tenancy Reform Industry Group which includes the Tenant Farmers Association on the 27 June 2017 to discuss a range of issues relating to agricultural tenancies including the taxation framework. In addition Defra officials meet regularly with the Tenant Farmers Association to keep in touch on tenant farming issues, the most recent meeting took place on 20 July 2017.

Agriculture: Productivity

baroness mcintosh of pickering: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will commit to continuing public investment in supporting growth in farm productivity and resilience after the UK has left the EU.

lord gardiner of kimble: It is our priority to enable an innovative, productive and competitive food supply chain from farm to fork, which invests in people and skills. The government has already committed to provide the same cash total in funds for farm support until the end of the parliament. The Agriculture Bill will ensure that after we leave the EU we have an effective system in place to support UK farmers and protect our natural environment for future generations. We will listen to everyone who has an interest in the future of the industry as we prepare new approaches to support our farmers to grow and sell more world-class food.

Food: Procurement

baroness mcintosh of pickering: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to enhance public procurement of British food once the UK has left the EU.

lord gardiner of kimble: The government has a manifesto commitment to ensure that a third of goods and services procured by departments are supplied by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). We are delivering this in respect of food and catering services through the Plan for Public Procurement: Food and Catering Services, published in 2014.The Plan aims to simplify the public procurement process and open up the market to more SMEs and local producers. It provides a level playing field on which UK producers can compete for the opportunity to supply more of the produce currently supplied from other countries. It provides tools, including the balanced scorecard, to help contracting parties to balance a range of criteria beneficial to the consumer, the environment, and to producers. These include embedding UK production standards, encouraging seasonality of fresh produce and calling for menus which celebrate the provenance of the food. This approach is a UK-led initiative which is not affected by leaving the EU.The use of the balanced scorecard approach is mandatory for central government departments as existing contracts are renewed. Defra is working closely with buyers and with the industry to ensure they are well prepared to maximise the opportunities.The UK’s departure from the EU allows some flexibility to re-examine procurement rules to ensure they work in the best interests of UK businesses.

Food: Imports

baroness mcintosh of pickering: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will consider introducing policies for import substitution on food products, particularly dairy and horticulture,oncethe UK has left the EU.

lord gardiner of kimble: The UK sources food from a diverse range of countries, in addition to a strong domestic production base. This will not change after leaving the EU. We want to grow more, sell more and export more British food, supported by the Industrial Strategy. This will allow the food and drink sector to become even more resilient, competitive and profitable. It is our priority to enable an innovative, productive and competitive food supply chain from farm and sea to fork, which invests in people and skills. We are prioritising securing the freest trade possible with the EU, including an ambitious and comprehensive trade agreement and a new customs agreement. We work to promote transparency and open global markets internationally, as well as a competitive domestic market to help producers and retailers offer the best prices, quality and choice to consumers.

Environment Protection: Greater Manchester

lord pendry: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the finding in the State of Nature 2016 report that 56 per cent of assessed speciesare in decline, what measures they are taking to support the Greater Manchester Urban Pioneer project under the 25-year Environment Plan to improve the status of nature in the city; and what resources they are allocating to that project.

lord gardiner of kimble: The Greater Manchester Urban Pioneer is one of four pioneer projects created by Defra to inform the development and implementation of the government’s 25 Year Environment Plan. The pioneers are partnership projects designed to test and refine better ways of managing the environment. The Greater Manchester Pioneer is being led by the Environment Agency with support from the Defra 25 Year Environment Plan team. Local government and relevant government agencies are also providing resources as key pioneer partners. Increasing biodiversity across Greater Manchester is one of the objectives of this pioneer.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Parks

baroness jones of whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the total acreage of public parks in the UK for each year since 2010.

baroness jones of whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty's Government how manypublic parks there were in the UK ineach year since 2010.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: The Government does not collect data on number of parks or their acreages but fully recognises the value of publicly accessible green spaces which allow communities to come together and contribute to their health and well being. The Communities and Local Government Select Committee published its report on Public Parks in January 2017 which looked at both the value and future sustainability of parks as well as some of the challenges the sector faces. We will shortly be publishing our response to the Committee’s recommendations. We will work closely with the parks sector and other Government Departments who have the expertise and knowledge of what works well to ensure that parks continue to play a vital role in communities.

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

lord kennedy of southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 21 July (HL370), what does "followed up on all of them" mean in the context of the Coroner's report into the Lakanal House fire in 2009; and what were the recommendations of the Coroner that were (1) agreed, and (2) not agreed, by them.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: The Department considered and has acted on the recommendations of the Coroner's report into the Lakanal house fire in 2009. A note setting out the action the then Government took in response to the recommendations has been placed in the Library of the House.

Community Housing Fund

baroness bakewell of hardington mandeville: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are in a position to announce the mechanism for distributing the second year of funding from the Community House Fund.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: The annual £60 million Community Housing Fund was launched on 23 December 2016 to put local groups who know their area’s needs best in the driving seat and help them deliver housing that is affordable to the local community. For the 2016/17 financial year, grants were awarded to 148 local authorities which were particularly affected by local affordability issues or high rates of second home ownership. My officials have been working up proposals for the delivery of the Fund from 2017/18 and an announcement will be made in due course.

Private Rented Housing: Electrical Safety

lord tope: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they intend to make an announcement on mandatory electrical safety checks in the private rented sector.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: All homes should be decent and safe. Following Royal Assent of the Housing and Planning Act 2016, a Working Group of relevant experts was established to provide recommendations to ministers on what, if any, legislative requirements for electrical safety in the private rented sector should be introduced. The Working Group has concluded and their report and recommendations are currently being considered.

Department for Exiting the European Union

European Medicines Agency: Greater London

lord campbell-savours: To ask Her Majesty's Government on what date, and by whom, was the European Medicines Agency lease at Canary Wharf agreed; and what problems have been reported to them as to the terms of the lease.

baroness anelay of st johns: The Government understands that the ​original ​lease agreement was signed by the European Medicines Agency in 2011. The contract is between the EMA and the landlord, and as such we would not expect to be alerted to any problems as to the terms of the lease.

Brexit

lord campbell-savours: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have a record of the comments made by Michel Barnier at the Ambrosetti Forum held in Italy on 2 September and if so, whether they will publish them.

baroness anelay of st johns: Her Majesty’s Government did not attend the Ambrosetti Forum and therefore we do not hold a record of the comments made. The comments have however been widely reported in the media.

Brexit

lord carlile of berriew: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plansfor the Law Commission to have a role in the review and preparation of legislation affected by Brexit.

lord carlile of berriew: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have received any proposals from the Law Commission for the Commission to play a role in the review and preparation of legislation affected by Brexit.

baroness anelay of st johns: The Law Commission has confirmed through the Ministry of Justice, its sponsoring department, that it stands ready to assist the Government in the review and preparation of exit related legislation, so this will be an option available to individual departments in future if considered necessary and appropriate. Government is working to deliver a functioning statute book in time for exit day and is taking the necessary powers in the EU (Withdrawal) Bill to allow it to deliver just that.

Erasmus+ Programme

baroness coussins: To ask Her Majesty's Government when issues relating to the UK's participation in the Erasmus Programme will be scheduled for discussion as part of the negotiations on exiting the EU.

baroness anelay of st johns: At the start of these negotiations, both sides agreed that the aim was to make progress on four key areas: citizen's rights, the financial settlement, Northern Ireland and Ireland and broader separation issues.Both sides need to move swiftly on to discussing our future partnership, including specific European programmes we may still wish to participate in. We want that to happen after the October European Council.The UK government does recognise the value of international exchange and collaboration in education and training, and this forms part of our vision for the UK as a global nation.

Customs

lord roberts of llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government what factors they will take into account, and with whom they will consult, in their deliberations on the nature of future customs arrangements with the EU, with particular reference to which of the two approaches they have set out, a highly streamlined customs arrangement or a new customs partnership with the EU, should be pursued.

baroness anelay of st johns: Our future partnership paper on customs arrangements sets out our objectives for a new customs arrangement with the EU, and our proposals to achieve them. The paper seeks views from all those with a stake in our future customs relationship with the EU, and poses a number of specific questions on our proposals for feedback.We are also continuing to engage in dialogue on our proposals with industry stakeholders, including through a series of business roundtables conducted across the country, involving a range of different sectors. We will continue to engage with interested parties to inform our thinking as we move towards negotiations with our EU partners.

Brexit

lord roberts of llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the economic consequences of no deal being reached with the EU.

baroness anelay of st johns: A future partnership between the UK and EU is in the interests of both sides, and we are confident that we will secure a good deal for the UK as a whole.A responsible government should, however, prepare for all potential outcomes, including the unlikely scenario in which no mutually satisfactory agreement can be reached. The government is undertaking a comprehensive programme of analytical work to assess, across a range of scenarios, the economic impacts of exiting the European Union. However, and as the House of Commons agreed in October and December 2016, it would not be appropriate to publish any such information that could damage our negotiating position.

Customs

lord roberts of llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impactof any future variance in environmental and consumer standards between the UK and the EUon customs arrangements once the UK has left the EU.

baroness anelay of st johns: As the government has made clear, we are in the process of carrying out a programme of rigorous and extensive analytical work that will contribute to our exit negotiations with the EU, to define our future partnership with the EU, and to inform our understanding of how EU exit will affect the UK’s domestic policies and frameworks.We stand by our manifesto commitment to be the first generation to leave the natural environment in a better state than we found it, and we will uphold our obligations under international environmental treaties.We also recognise the importance of having effective protections for consumers buying goods and services across borders, and are determined to cooperate closely with our EU partners on issues of consumer protection after we leave the EU.

Customs

lord roberts of llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have estimated the financial impact on taxpayers of setting a new streamlined customs arrangement once the UK has left the EU; if so, when they expect that impact to manifest; and how long theyestimate it will take to put in place the new arrangements.

baroness anelay of st johns: The government has undertaken a significant amount of work to assess the economic impacts of both approaches highlighted in the recent Future Customs Arrangements paper, but parliament has voted not to disclose material that could damage the United Kingdom’s position in its negotiations with the European Union. When assessing all options for the UK’s future relationship with the EU, the government will be guided by what delivers the greatest economic advantage to the UK.The precise nature of a new streamlined customs arrangement, including implementation time, will be determined through negotiations. As set out in the Government's paper in August, the government believes that a model of close association with the EU Customs Union for a time-limited interim period would help both sides to minimise unnecessary disruption and allow for a smooth and orderly transition to any new arrangement.

UK Trade with EU

lord allen of kensington: To ask Her Majesty's Government to what extent they expect the UK and EU to have mutual recognition of (1) goods, and (2) services, through regulatory equivalence post-Brexit.

baroness anelay of st johns: The UK Government is committed to making the UK the best place in the world to do business. This will mean fostering a high quality, stable and predictable regulatory environment. We want to minimise the regulatory and market access barriers for both goods and services. However, these discussions will be subject to the negotiations.

*No heading*

lord hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have used the continental media as a way of presenting to the public in the EU–27 their case for a constructive future relationship with the EU; and what plans they have to do so.

baroness anelay of st johns: We engage with continental media daily to set out our plans for a deep and special future partnership with the EU27. Engagement is conducted directly through briefings with EU correspondents in the UK, via our team in UKRep in Brussels and through our network of Embassies in Member States.

*No heading*

lord stoddart of swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have made for the UK to leave the EU in March 2019 in the event that the European Council or the European Parliament does not ratify any agreement reached between the UK and the European Commission concerning the UK’s departure from the EU.

baroness anelay of st johns: A future partnership between the UK and EU is in the interests of both sides, and we have entered into the negotiations anticipating success. However, since the result of the referendum, we have taken the responsible approach to work at pace to build a detailed understanding of how withdrawing from the EU will affect policies and services for a range of outcomes, including the unlikely scenario in which no mutually satisfactory agreement can be reached.Given the long lead-in times to implement some of our contingency measures, we need to begin now for them to remain viable. But implementing the first stages of contingency plans now should not be interpreted as an expectation that talks with the EU will not be successful, and we are clear that securing a good deal for both sides is by far and away the highest probability, but we have a duty to plan for the alternative. These are the actions of a responsible government determined to ensure a smooth exit under any eventuality.

Department for International Trade

Bell Pottinger Group: South Africa

lord hain: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether Bell Pottinger's recent public affairs work in South Africa was in line with their policy on international trade conducted by British firms.

lord hain: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the taking of income by UK Directors of Bell Pottinger for public affairs work in South Africa commissioned by businesspeople linked to President Zuma was in line withtheir policy on international trade conducted by British firms.

lord hain: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether Government staff, in the UK or in South Africa, were consulted by Bell Pottinger's Directors before they took income for public affairs work in South Africa commissioned by businesspeople linked to President Zuma.

baroness sugg: The behaviour of Bell Pottinger in South Africa has clearly been completely unacceptable. We welcome the investigations conducted by the Public Relations and Communications Association and Herbert Smith Freehills and the conclusions of their reports.At no stage was Her Majesty's Government (HMG) in any way involved in this work, nor consulted in advance.The UK has one of the world’s toughest anti-corruption laws, and HMG takes any allegations of bribery or corruption extremely seriously.

Bell Pottinger Group: South Africa

lord hain: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the finding thatBell Pottinger was in breach of the UK Public Relations and Communications Association code of conduct regarding its recent activities in South Africa, what assessment they have made of the extent to which the actions which led to thatbreachwere incontravention of UK trade policy.

baroness sugg: The Public Relations and Communication Association (PRCA) has found that Bell Pottinger’s work breached a number of clauses of its Professional Charter, and of its Public Affairs and Lobbying Code of Conduct. The company’s membership of the PRCA has been terminated and it should not be eligible to reapply for corporate membership for a minimum of five years.The UK has a world leading system of professional standards and industry specific codes of conduct, which we encourage British companies to uphold in their operations domestically and overseas. Our industry bodies and regulators ensure compliance, as demonstrated by the robust response of the PRCA to Bell Pottinger’s activities in South Africa.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Sanitary Protection: VAT

baroness barker: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the aims of the Tampon Tax Fund; and whether those aims have beenpublished or made available to applicants for grants.

lord ashton of hyde: The aim of the Tampon Tax Fund is to improve the lives of disadvantaged women and girls. An application form and guidance, which included detail about the aims of the Fund and selection criteria, was sent to any organisation which expressed an interest in bidding.

LIFE

baroness barker: To ask Her Majesty's Government what timetable for (1) monitoring, and (2) evaluation, has been agreed for the grant from the Tampon Tax Fund awarded to Life 2009; and to whom the results of the evaluation will be made available.

lord ashton of hyde: All grants awarded from the Tampon Tax Fund are monitored by the Office for Civil Society throughout the lifetime of the grant to ensure that the projects deliver the agreed outputs and outcomes. The timing of monitoring reports is set out in individual grant agreements and varies depending on the nature of the project. Funded organisations are responsible for evaluating their own projects. The Life Charity grant agreement has yet to be agreed.

BBC: Video on Demand

lord chadlington: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to take steps to ensure licence payers are able to access BBC iPlayer when outside the UK; and if so, when.

lord ashton of hyde: The Government's BBC White Paper published in May 2016, 'A BBC for the Future', made clear that the Government agrees that BBC content should be portable following the closure of the iPlayer loophole. The BBC is an independent body governed by the Royal Charter. Under the terms of the Charter, the BBC is operationally and editorially independent of Government and there is no provision for the Government to intervene in the Corporation's day-to-day operations. Therefore it will ultimately be up to the BBC to determine whether or not their content will be available abroad.

Commercial Broadcasting: Radio

baroness bonham-carter of yarnbury: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect to publish their response to the consultation on Commercial Radio Deregulation.

baroness bonham-carter of yarnbury: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to deregulate aspects of commercial radio, as identified in their consultation on Commercial Radio Deregulation.

lord ashton of hyde: The commercial radio deregulation consultation closed on 8 May 2017. We intend to publish the government response in due course.

Department of Health

Tobacco: Retail Trade

lord blencathra: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have made any assessment of the effectiveness of the Scottish Tobacco Retailer Licensing Scheme; and whether they have any plans to replicate that scheme in England.

lord o'shaughnessy: HM Revenue and Customs has carried out a consultation on the impact of licensing the supply chain for the sale of tobacco products. This was for the purpose of tackling the illicit trade in line with the requirements of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Illicit Trade Protocol. A response document for the consultation will be published later this year. The Government has no plans at present to introduce a licensing scheme in England. The Government recognises that Scotland has implemented a registration scheme and will continue to observe the impact of this scheme on tobacco control.

Hepatitis: Pigmeat

lord blencathra: To ask Her Majesty's Government when Public Health England first became aware that pig meat from the Netherlands and Germany was infected with Hepatitis E; and why stepswere nottaken to ban imports of infected meat.

lord blencathra: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the number of people who may die as a result of contracting Hepatitis E from infected pig meat imported from other EU member states.

lord o'shaughnessy: Public Health England (PHE) knows of no published data that shows either German or Dutch pig meat contains the hepatitis E virus (HEV). Detecting the presence of HEV in foods to prove causation is technically extremely difficult. PHE’s role is advisory. The Food Standards Agency is the regulatory body responsible for determining any necessary steps to protect consumers. It is not possible to estimate the number of people who may die as a result of HEV. PHE is aware of a small number of cases, on average between one and two a year, where coincident HEV infection is included in the death certificate.

Blood Transfusions

lord hunt of kings heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many NHS patients (1) are receiving, or (2) havein thelast year received,blood plasma from compensated US donors.

lord hunt of kings heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government which international companies supply plasma products to hospitals in England.

lord hunt of kings heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what safeguards are in place to ensure the safety of blood plasma products for NHS patients.

lord hunt of kings heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what safeguards are in place to ensure a suitable supply of blood plasma products for NHS patients.

lord o'shaughnessy: Blood plasma supplied by NHS Blood and Transplant for transfusion to hospitals in England is either imported from Austria or comes from United Kingdom donors. Both sources are public, not privately sourced.Blood plasma derived medicinal products are subject to medicinal regulation to assure their safety. Data are not held on the number of National Health Service patients receiving blood plasma medicinal products which may have been derived from United States donors.The companies that supply plasma derived products to hospitals in England via NHS England’s Commercial Medicines Unit (CMU) frameworks are: - CSL Behring;- Grifols;- Octapharma;- BPL (Bio Products Laboratory);- LFB Biomedicaments;- Baxalta (now part of Shire); and- Shire Pharmaceuticals. Information is not held on supply of plasma derived medicinal products to NHS trusts outside of a CMU framework agreement. There are a number of measures in place to ensure the safety and supply of plasma and medicinal products for patients. All companies wishing to supply plasma derived medicinal products to hospitals in the UK have to be licensed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). There are a series of stringent safety measures in place to prevent infections resulting from the use of medicinal products prepared from human blood or plasma, including selection of donors, screening of individual donations and plasma pools for specific markers of infection and the inclusion of effective manufacturing steps for the inactivation/removal of viruses. These measures are described in detail in the European Medicines Agency’s Guideline on plasma-derived medicinal products. A copy is attached. The Department works closely with the MHRA, the pharmaceutical industry, NHS England and others to manage risks to the supply chain of blood plasma products to NHS patients. 



Guideline on plasma-derived medicinal products
(PDF Document, 323.79 KB)

Human Papillomavirus: Vaccination

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what reduction there has been in the incidence of cervical cancer since the introduction of the vaccination against the human papilloma virus.

lord o'shaughnessy: The national human papilloma virus (HPV) immunisation programme began in the United Kingdom in September 2008. The girls vaccinated as part of the national HPV immunisation programme will currently be aged up to 27 years of age and the oldest routinely vaccinated girls will be up to 22 years of age. Public Health England is conducting surveillance to assess vaccine efficacy by monitoring the frequency of vaccine and non-vaccine HPV types in cervical cancer. This includes enhanced surveillance among women less than 30 years old who were diagnosed with cervical cancer. Data collection started in 2013, although a very small number of cases in this age group have been from women eligible to have received the HPV vaccine as part of the national immunisation programme. This is ongoing surveillance.

Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust

lord hunt of kings heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which theconsultation exercise being undertaken by the Epsom and St Helier Trust about the future of local acute hospital provision is consistent with the Cabinet Office’s consultation principles.

lord o'shaughnessy: The future of local acute hospital provision is a matter for NHS England and the National Health Service locally. Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust advises that it is not currently carrying out a public consultation. However, the Trust is currently engaging with the public on its proposals to move to a single acute specialist facility and to keep most care local. The purpose of this engagement is not focused on specific sites but on the principle of moving to a single acute specialist facility.

Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust

lord hunt of kings heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light ofthe proposal from the Epsom and St Helier Trust to downgrade or close services at Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals to make way for a new acute hospital in Sutton, whether any such proposal has been included in the Surrey Heartlands Sustainability and Transformation Plan.

lord o'shaughnessy: Any decision regarding service changes is a matter for NHS England and the National Health Service locally. The Surrey Heartlands Sustainability and Transformation Plan refers to the need to make progress on an estates solution for Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals but does not make proposals to downgrade or close services at Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals.

Hospitals: Closures

lord hunt of kings heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the status of proposals to close acute hospitals at (1) onein five sites in South West London, and (2)onein three sites in Leicestershire.

lord o'shaughnessy: Any decision regarding service changes is a matter for NHS England and the National Health Service locally. NHS England advises that the South West London Sustainability and Transformation Plan does not propose the closure of any hospital within its footprint. In respect of the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Sustainability and Transformation Plan, the document considers a range of options for local services, and where specific proposals are agreed by the local NHS, they will be subject to formal public consultation.

Hospitals: Greater London

lord hunt of kings heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussionsthey haveheld with NHS England over the funding of a proposed new hospital in South West London.

lord o'shaughnessy: Any decisions about new hospitals are for NHS England and the National Health Service locally. NHS England has advised that proposals for a new hospital in South West London are at a very early stage. A Strategic Outline Business Case is being prepared for initial consideration by NHS Improvement.

Health Services: Per Capita Costs

lord pendry: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is theexpenditure per head of population for each NHS England clinical commissioning group.

lord o'shaughnessy: The information is not available in the format requested. However, figures for the total expenditure of clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in England for 2016-17 are in the table, which has been attached owing to the size of the data.



CCG expenditure
(Word Document, 28.24 KB)

Contraceptives

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether payments to GPs in England in respect of long-acting reversible contraception cover the full cost of administering those treatments; and, if not, why not.

lord o'shaughnessy: Local authorities are responsible for contracting with general practice for the provision of long-acting methods of contraception. Details of individual contracts are not held centrally.

Health Services

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to improve the streamlining of commissioning services for family planning and Sexual and Reproductive Health Services in England.

lord o'shaughnessy: The Government has no plans to change the current commissioning arrangements for sexual and reproductive health services. Following the completion of a commissioning survey across the sexual and reproductive health system, Public Health England published Sexual Health, Reproductive Health and HIV: A Review of Commissioning on 30 August 2017. A copy of this report is attached. The report identifies a number of challenges facing commissioners and providers of these services and makes recommendations to address them. The recommendations include proposals to improve the coordination of commissioning across different organisations.



Sexual and reproductive health report
(PDF Document, 1.25 MB)

Health Services

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the public health budget for family planning or Sexual and Reproductive Health Services in England in (1) 2000, (2) 2005, (3) 2010, (4) 2015, and (5) 2017.

lord o'shaughnessy: Data prior to 2013 is not held in the format requested. In 2015-16, local authorities reported spend of £631 million in total against three public health categories of sexual health. This information is shown in the following table. Data on spend in 2017-18 will be published in due course. Sexual health - category of expenditureSpend in 2015-16 (millions)Sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment (prescribed functions)£365.973Contraception (prescribed functions)£193.489Advice, prevention and promotion (non-prescribed functions)£71.673

NHS: Exchange Rates

lord watson of richmond: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the additional costs to the NHS as a consequence of the fall in the value of the pound since the EU referendum.

lord o'shaughnessy: The Spending Review set budgets for the National Health Service for the years up to and including 2020-21. Costs in the NHS may be impacted by a number of factors and these are regularly discussed with HM Treasury.

Surrogate Motherhood: Lone Parents

baroness barker: To ask Her Majesty's Government when the Remedial Order relating to the Human Fertility and Embryology Act 2008 which will allow single people to apply for parental orders following a surrogacy arrangement will be laid; and whether it will apply to both single male applicants and single female applicants.

lord o'shaughnessy: Drafting work on the remedial order is ongoing, which we currently estimate will be laid in the autumn session of Parliament. The order would apply equally to male and female applicants.